pic of the week

my sisters came to visit me in london for a few days and it was fascinating to re-discover london with them and see things with fresh eyes that i had stopped noticing or started to take for granted. one thing that i love about london and that – strangely – makes me feel very at home here is that i share with so many people a history of journey: of having travelled through countries or continents and eventually ended or just stopped here. even the people that i know that were born in london have at some point travelled: sailed around the world; lived in the french caribbean; grew up in canada then returned back here; or even in one instance joined an expedition to the arctic pole…

when i took my sisters to eastham we passed this shop window and i thought it really captures the journeys of people in london: not only does it very aptly sell bus passes and that in an area where the majority of people will have roots in bangladesh, pakistan and india; it has created a beautiful and framed work of art of people’s notes of different stages of their journey in london. looking for jobs, rooms, cars, teachers, child minders – anything that helps making this city a home; or offering skills, used items, time and other resources that are now no longer needed at this new stage in their lives.